Principle G

Principle G letterNurses and nursing staff work closely with their own team and with other professionals, making sure patients’ care and treatment is co-ordinated, is of a high standard and has the best possible outcome.

 

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Principle G encompasses themes of care and treatment, multi-disciplinary and multi-agency working, and co-ordination, integration and continuity of care.

You may find the following commentary article about Principle G a useful starting point for exploring this Principle. It was published by the Nursing Standard as part of an introductory series on the Principles of Nursing Practice:
Platt M et al (2011) Continuous care across teams: Principles of Nursing Practice G. Nursing Standard 25(34) 27 April pp.31-33 (PDF 84KB) [see how to access PDF files].

Other useful resources are:

A selection of RCN resources which are particularly relevant to Principle G

The following resources and services produced by the RCN provide guidance and support to people wishing to use the Principles for quality improvement purposes or their own continuing professional development.

To access any Learning Zone content you will be asked to enter your RCN membership number. If you require assistance with entering the Learning Zone, or would like further information on becoming a member of the RCN please contact RCN Direct on 0345 772 6100.

Some of the resources referred to below are in PDF – see how to access PDF files.

Accountability and delegation: what you need to know: 'Health care teams include a range of registered professionals, health care assistants (HCAs), assistant practitioners (APs) and students. It is vital that each member of the team is clear about their level of accountability and that the registered staff are confident when delegating tasks to their colleagues.' This film shows health care assistants discussing issues around accountability and delegation with commentary from experts from the RCN. The scenarios are relevant to all members of the team and can help in supporting effective team work in relation to appropriate delegation. There is an accompanying resource list and a checklist for both nurses who delegate and HCAs accepting delegation.

Clinical governance: this online resource signposts key policies, agencies, guidance and tools. You will find useful resources which support improvement activities and different ways of working in all of the themes within the resource and in particular, the staff focus, quality improvement and leadership themes.

Clinical guidelines: these publications are clinical guidelines which have been developed by the RCN in collaboration with different stakeholders and include guidelines developed with the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). They support care pathways based on evidence. Use of the guidelines in consultation with patients and/or carers and alongside the knowledge and skills of individual practitioners within the healthcare team can do much to ensure better outcomes for patients and provide more equitable care, avoiding variations.

In addition online resources based around a number of these guidelines highlight recommendations and provide resources to support their implementation.

Online resources are:

 Learning Zone resources are:

Developing and sustaining effective teams (PDF 663.5KB) (2007): this publication brings together learning from the clinical teams programme and provides a series of guides which are designed to be used by anyone who works in a team and who wishes to improve the ways in which a team operates. 

First steps for health care assistants: the RCN knows and values the contribution health care assistants bring to patients/clients and health care teams. This programme will give you a strong foundation as you begin your career in health care as an HCA.

Telehealth explained: this Learning Zone area will help you to develop a deeper understanding of what telehealth is about and the major influence it will have on addressing some of the most challenging problems of  our current health care system for example in providing quality and integrated care for people with long-term conditions.

The nursing team: common goals, different roles - historically, the nursing team has consisted of nurses, midwives, students and support workers, all delivering aspect of nursing care, but with different levels of responsibility and decision making. This briefing looks at how the team has developed and become more complex over recent years as new roles such as assistant practitioners (APs) have been created. The briefing aims to assist health care assistants (HCAs), APs, registered nurses, colleagues, patients and the public to understand how the team functions and works together.

Understanding how teams work: this Learning Zone area will help members of the nursing family develop a clear understanding of teamwork and team effectiveness. It is also of value for anyone who is interested in improving ways of teamworking.

Workplace resources for practice development (2007): this publication brings together resources that can be used as part of your practice development work either as an individual or as part of collaborative and team work. Copies of this can be ordered directly from RCND Publications publications@rcn.org.uk. They are available in CD format (publication code: 003534, £20) or paper format (publication code 003533, £60).

For further RCN publications, see Publications.

RCN e-library: provides a range of resources that RCN members can access for further information. These include full-text journals, databases, e-books and Fast searches which are up-to-date searches on frequently asked selected topics.